How To Send Interfolio Letters To AMCAS: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Sending letters of evaluation from Interfolio to the American Medical College Application Service requires precise account coordination, accurate AMCAS Letter ID entry, and adherence to strict submission windows to ensure your medical school application is verified without delay. Mastering this workflow prevents common document matching errors that stall primary application processing.

Pre-Procedure Planning & Account Requirements

Successfully transferring letters from an Interfolio Dossier to the AMCAS portal demands careful attention to technical specifications and timing benchmarks. Before initiating any document transfers, you must have an active Interfolio Dossier Deliver account and a submitted or ready-to-submit AMCAS primary application that generates your specific identification numbers.

• Essential Tools & Materials: An active Interfolio account with completed letter uploads, your AAMC ID, your AMCAS Letter ID (generated after entering your letter entries into the AMCAS application), and payment methods for Interfolio delivery fees or subscription tiers.
• Mandatory Prerequisite Knowledge: Familiarity with AMCAS application deadlines, individual medical school letter requirements (such as committee letter versus individual letter counts), and the exact applicant naming conventions required by admissions offices.
• Duration & Financial Benchmarks: The electronic delivery transfer typically processes within 24 to 48 hours during peak application cycles. Budget for Interfolio delivery fees per school or maintain an active Interfolio Deliver subscription.

Step-by-Step Workflow for Interfolio-to-AMCAS Delivery

Step 1: Initialize Your Letter Entries in the AMCAS Portal

Before interacting with Interfolio, log into your AMCAS application and navigate to the Letters of Evaluation section. Enter each recommender or committee and specify the letter type. Once saved, AMCAS automatically generates a unique Letter ID (starting with a specific alphanumeric prefix) and an AAMC ID for every designated entry.

Pro-Tip: Copy and paste your AAMC ID and individual Letter IDs directly from the AMCAS portal into a secure text document to prevent manual transcription errors.

Step 2: Prepare Your Documents Inside the Interfolio Dossier

Log into your Interfolio account and verify that your confidential letters of recommendation are fully uploaded, signed, and marked complete by your evaluators. Check that the names on the letters match the exact names you entered into the AMCAS application. Your Interfolio profile must use the exact same legal name and AAMC ID to ensure seamless backend matching by application processors.

Step 3: Set Up the External Delivery to AMCAS

Navigate to your Interfolio Deliver section and select the option to send letters to an institution or organization. Search for "AMCAS" or "American Medical College Application Service" from the destination dropdown menu. Interfolio maintains a direct integration pathway specifically designed for AAMC services, which streamlines the electronic transmission protocol.

Step 4: Input Your Unique AAMC and Letter IDs

When prompted by the Interfolio delivery wizard, carefully enter your AAMC ID and the specific AMCAS Letter ID corresponding to the letter you are sending. If you are sending multiple letters to AMCAS, you must repeat this delivery checkout process for each individual letter because each document requires its own unique Letter ID routing code.

Warning: Never use a single Letter ID for multiple different recommenders. Doing so will cause the AAMC scanning system to misattribute the document, resulting in processing holds and mismatched applicant files.

Step 5: Complete Payment and Confirm Transmission

Review your delivery details to ensure your AAMC ID and Letter ID match your AMCAS portal entries precisely. Pay any required Interfolio delivery fees to finalize the transaction. Monitor your Interfolio delivery tracking dashboard for confirmation that the packet has been successfully transmitted electronically to the AAMC servers.

Interfolio vs. Direct AMCAS Upload Specifications

Troubleshooting Common Interfolio and AMCAS Transfer Failures

• Root Cause: A mismatch between the applicant name on the Interfolio account and the legal name registered with AMCAS.
  
  
  • Actionable Fix: Update your Interfolio profile name to match your primary identification documents and AAMC profile before submitting additional letter packages.
• Root Cause: Entering an incorrect Letter ID during the Interfolio checkout process.
  
  
  • Actionable Fix: Contact Interfolio support immediately to request a delivery cancellation if unfulfilled, or contact AMCAS support to report the misattributed document if already ingested by their system.
• Root Cause: Attempting to send letters to AMCAS before generating the required Letter IDs in the primary application.
  
  
  • Actionable Fix: Complete the letters section inside your AMCAS application and wait for ID generation before initiating any transfers from your Interfolio dashboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send letters to AMCAS before submitting my primary application?

Yes, you can set up your letter entries in AMCAS and generate your Letter IDs prior to hitting submit on the primary application. However, AMCAS will not officially match or process incoming letters into your applicant file until your primary application has been formally submitted and paid for.

How long does it take for AMCAS to mark my Interfolio letters as received?

Electronic transmissions from Interfolio typically arrive at the AAMC within 24 to 48 hours. However, during peak application months from May through August, manual or systemic processing by AMCAS staff can take up to two weeks to reflect a "Received" status in your portal.

Do I need a separate Letter ID for every medical school I apply to?

No, AMCAS utilizes a centralized letter processing system. You send your letters to AMCAS once using your unique Letter ID, and you subsequently designate which specific medical schools from your school list will receive those letters inside the AMCAS application portal.

Can I use Interfolio to send committee packets and individual letters together?

Yes, Interfolio supports the delivery of both committee letters and individual letters of evaluation. You must ensure that each distinct document packet is assigned its own unique AMCAS Letter ID during the Interfolio delivery configuration process.

What should I do if my recommender wants to change their letter after it is sent?

You must request an updated letter from your recommender, upload the new version as a new document in Interfolio, and submit it to AMCAS using a newly generated Letter ID from your updated AMCAS application to ensure admissions committees review the most current evaluation.

Ready to streamline your medical school admissions journey? Securely manage, store, and deliver your recommendation letters across multiple application cycles with precision using Interfolio.